Steve Smith is available for week one of the Big Bash finals, as is David Warner and the majority of the other Test players contracted with BBL sides vying for qualification in the knock-out stage.
Smith and Warner, lured back to the competition on lucrative contracts this summer, had been expecting to leave their respective teammates at the Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder after the regular season ended.
But the Test team won't fly out to India until January 31, with the BBL confirming to AAP that as many as 11 members of the Australian squad could play in the first week of the finals. None will be paid extra match fees for their games.
With three days left in the regular season, only the Perth Scorchers and Sixers are guaranteed to play in the post-season, meaning Sixers Smith and Nathan Lyon will be available, as will Scorchers quick Lance Morris.
This week, Smith became the second man in BBL history hit back-to-back centuries so his inclusion looms as critical for the Sixers.
Warner's Sydney Thunder are a chance to qualify for either the eliminator, played between the fourth and fifth-placed teams, and/or the knockout, contested by the third-placed team and the winner of the eliminator. He would be available to play in either or both.
Adelaide Strikers duo Alex Carey and Travis Head would also be available for the eliminator or knockout pending qualification, as would Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Matt Renshaw of the Brisbane Heat.
As part of preparations for spin-friendly India, Australia will host a special training clinic for their spinners that rules Ashton Agar and Todd Murphy out of the BBL finals.
Tweaker Mitch Swepson of the Heat and Melbourne Renegades' Peter Handscomb, known for his ability to play spin, will also take part in the clinic and would be free for the eliminator.
A scheduling conflict means the pair can only suit up in the knockout if it is hosted by the Thunder.
